Working with Customer CSV Files
A Comma Separated Value file is a formatted text file with organized data. The data is separated by commas – hence its magical name. Magento Go uses CSV file method for importing and exporting product and customer information.
Here are two articles on importing and exporting CSV files:
Exporting Product or Customer Information – Step by step instructions on how to export product or customer information.
Importing Product or Customer Information – Step by step instructions on how to import product or customer information.
Workflow for Importing Customers using CSV
If you're reading this article, you must either be interested in importing product or customer information or export it. The articles mentioned above will give you instructions on how to do this. But before you proceed with the import/export, it's important that you have your initial bases covered. This article covers the attributes that are used when working with customer CSV files -- a method of importing or exporting customer information.
Step one: Optimize Your Attributes
First, you want to make sure your attributes are optimized. What we mean by optimized is that you've removed the attributes that you will not need and created attributes that you will need.
Customer System Attributes
Customer system attributes are customer attributes that are required by Magento Go for functionality and customer management. These attributes cannot be deleted. They include the following:
| Attribute Code | Description | Value | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| website_id | The website with which the customer will be associated. The default options are either Admin or Main Website. Customers associated with Admin will not be able to log in and make purchases through your web store. | string | yes |
| group_id | The customer group to associate this customer with. The default customer groups in Magento Go are General and Retailer, but these can be customized. | string | yes |
| prefix | Precedes the customer's first name and is part of their full name. Examples: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Rev. | string | no |
| firstname | The customer's first, or given, name. | string | yes |
| middlename | The customer's middle name or initial. | string | yes |
| lastname | The customer's last, or family, name. | string | yes |
| suffix | The name suffix that follows the customer's full name, often providing additional information about the person. Examples: Ph.D., J.D., Pharm.D., K.B.E. | string | no |
| Customer's email address. | string | yes | |
| dob | Date of birth, formatted as MM/DD/YY | mm/dd/yy | no |
| taxvat | Tax or VAT ID number of customer. | Alphanumeric | no |
| gender | Customer gender | male, female | no |
Customer Address Attributes
Customer address attributes are customer attributes that are available for defining customer addresses. When importing customer information with a CSV file, customer addresses can be defined with these attributes. They include the following:
| Attribute Code | Description | Value | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| prefix | Precedes the customer's first name and is part of their full name. Examples: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Rev. | string | no |
| firstname | The customer's first, or given, name. | string | yes |
| middlename | The customer's middle name or initial. | string | no |
| lastname | The customer's last, or family, name. | string | yes |
| suffix | The name suffix that follows the customer's full name, often providing additional information about the person. Examples: Ph.D., J.D., Pharm.D., K.B.E. | string | no |
| company | Company or business name if the address belongs to a business. | string | no |
| street | Street address -- usually includes a home or business building number, street name, and suite or apartment number. | string | yes |
| city | City or town name for the address. | string | yes |
| country_id | Country where this address belongs to. Click here for a list of country codes | string | yes |
| region | State or province of the address location. | string | no |
| postcode | Postal code, or zip code | alphanumeric | yes |
| telephone | Telephone number for the address location | number | yes |
| fax | Fax number for the address location | number | no |
Step two: Export and Edit
After you have optimized your attributes, export your customer information. Directions for how to do this can be found by reading Exporting Product or Customer Information. Once exported, open this file in a Microsoft Excel or in your favorite spreadsheet application.
The attributes that you define will fall into the column of the attribute that is listed in the first row. When saving changes to the CSV file that you edit in Excel, it is absolutely critical that when Excel asks you what format you wish to save, select Yes to leave out incompatible features.
Step three: Import and Refresh Index
Finally, after you've defined and saved your customers in the CSV file, import them back into your Magento Go store. To learn how to do this step-by-step, read Importing Product or Customer Information.
After you have imported your customers, it will be queued to import. This may take a little while, so be patient. You can check the status of this by refreshing the page. Once the Import customers task has finished, you must refresh the search index. To do this, go to Catalog > Search Indexing and click Refresh Index.
The most common problem storeowners experience with importing CSV files is missing values or incorrect values. During the import process, Magento Go checks your data to ensure that it's correct. It will report which rows and items are missing or incorrect. Be sure to go back and fix these issues.
